My 8yr old labrador has developed bald patches on his elbows. he doesent lie on hard surfaces . ?

Question

he lives indoors and eats better than me! im putting aloe vera gel on and antiseptic cream on but it doesnt seem to make a difference.

Answer 1

Unless his hair is falling off in big chunks it's fine. And if he's not scratching or chewing or bothering them then you are ok too. My lab had balding elbows too, or at least less hair.

I have a lab mix now that her stomach and armpits have almost no hair. I figure it's cause she's a fatty and her hair gets rubbed off. She is perfectly healthy though.

So no worries, good luck.  

Answer 2

I agree with all of the previous answers but please be careful with the cream you put on.  Anything that has perfume in it could irritate and make the problem much worse.

Answer 3

Take him to the vets! My neighbours dog did that who's called henry he dose it with his poor scratches it!

Answer 4

its common in labs, very common actually.

apply sudocrem, this is what we used at the kennels i worked at,

Answer 5

Hes just fine. Its normal for them to loose the hair where they always lay like their elbows, sometimes even their knees get sparse.  As long as they aren't open wounds or hurting him hes fine.  Hes old, actually the same age as my lab and it happens to all of them, so relax!

Answer 6

It happens to most dogs, they lose the hair and then the skin underneath goes black and tough. You can't stop it from happening but if you apply a cream to them it will stop it drying out, cracking and bleeding. It happens when dogs get older, mine has it too. The vet said it was normal and nothing to worry about as long as it was kept clean and wasn't allowed to get sore!